In Order No. 15143 of 6 June 2025, the Third Civil Section of the Court of Cassation examined the consequences of failing to renew registration of an attachment over immovable property. The official headnote is Rv. 675333-01.

Registration and the twenty-year period

The twenty-year period of effectiveness follows from Articles 2668-bis and 2668-ter of the Civil Code: the latter extends the former's provisions to registration of an attachment. Renewal must take place before expiry to preserve the registration's effect.

Ineffectiveness and discontinuation of enforcement

The Court holds that failure to renew makes the attachment subsequently ineffective and prevents continuation of the enforcement proceedings. This is not nullity of the act, so the curative mechanism in Article 156 of the Code of Civil Procedure cannot apply. Order No. 15241 of 7 June 2025, Rv. 675339-01, also confirms the period and the consequence.

The decision concerns continuation of those proceedings. It does not declare the debt extinguished or justify promising automatic cancellation of the registration or unrestricted disposal of the property without checking other encumbrances and the required procedural steps.

Official sources: Corte di cassazione, Rassegna del Massimario; Corte di cassazione, Rassegna del Massimario; MEF, legge 69/2009, art. 62.